If you are a parent of a little child or know someone who is, you are surely aware of how difficult it is to locate their child’s formula.
Due to a variety of factors, baby formula has become increasingly difficult to find in stores since the end of last year. 40% of the country’s formula supply is currently out of stock. While switching to a different brand of formula or even cow’s milk may appear to be the ideal option, this is far from the reality.
One mother used TikTok to explain why she can’t purchase her daughter any brand. She’s not the only one.
Kayzie Weedman wants to raise awareness about a key problem that she and other formula-feeding parents face: empty shelves.
@momofrory Excuse my makeup less crying face 🥺 this #formulashortage is so scary. #formulamilk #formulacrisis #formulafeeding #formulafed #fyp #fypã‚· ♬ original sound – Kayzie Weedman
“You go to your neighborhood Target or Walmart and expect to find the formula your kid requires? Nope. She said in her now-viral TikTok, “Shelves are bare.”
Kayzie noted that because her kid has a “severe cow’s milk protein sensitivity,” she can’t just use any formula for her.
Her baby, like many other babies who rely on special formulae, develops a rash.
“So, what am I going to do if I can’t find the formula I need on the shelves?”
Her daughter’s prescription formula is six months out of stock at the drugstore, so she can’t buy it.
“All I have to do now is sit here and stare at empty shelves, unsure of what to do next.”
The problems started earlier in the pandemic, when formula was being stored, and they rapidly worsened.
Last year’s problems involved labor disruptions, transportation, and raw materials, and things soon got out of hand after Abbott Nutrition issued a recall for several major brands after reports of four babies becoming ill after ingesting formula from a Michigan plant.
Because most baby formula contains easier-to-digest protein from cow’s milk, babies with allergies to the protein are unable to switch to a more widely available type.
Many people recommend breastfeeding instead, but Kayzie told Buzzfeed that this approach is more aggravating than beneficial.
“Because of Palmer’s immune system and allergy requirements, I was unable to breastfeed.” MY breastmilk was slowly poisoning my kid, and she would have died if I hadn’t used formula.”
Although it is advised that parents nurse their infants exclusively for the first six months, research shows that just 26% of babies were breastfed during that time period in 2018.
Medical issues, trauma, and the lack of parental leave could all contribute to this.
Kayzie, like many other parents, went to social media to find her daughter’s formula. She was fortunate in finding 12 cans, which she estimated would last her three months.
“You have no idea how much this means to me, and it’s incredible how social media can be utilized.”
We should be talking more about how vulnerable the supply chain is for our most basic and important goods.
The baby formula isles at the Target and Walmart near our home.
This should be setting off major 🚨 pic.twitter.com/wH2twVjAEJ
— Matt Karolian (Media3.eth) (@mkarolian) May 6, 2022
It crushes my heart to see so many parents unable to feed their children. Worse, many people do not have other options.
Please share this to raise even more awareness about the baby formula shortage and why parents find it difficult to switch brands.